I ate MCIs and the then-new LRRP meals back in '71. At that time, MCIs still came with cigarettes, which I either traded off or gave to Vietnamese. LRRPs were better than MCIs, but took a long time to rehydrate or they were like eating gravel mixed with mud. A common method for heating MCI cans was to light a golfball-sized lump of C-4 explosive for fuel. It was completely safe to do so, counterintuitively. C-4 burned better and cleaner than the official issued heater fuels.

I was perhaps one of the few who didn't hate the limas beans and ham. It's a combination I've cooked and enjoyed both before and after those days, so the canned version was just fine by me.